#TeachLoveTuesday

If you are one of those daring people that actually reads my long posts on Instagram and Facebook on Tuesdays, first of all, give yourself a pat on your back! Secondly, you might have seen the hashtag #TeachLoveTuesday.

What does it mean?

So lets rewind to why I started posting every Tuesday with the #TeachLoveTuesday hashtag. I started competing in the Miss America Organization in the state of Oklahoma about two and a half years ago. Each competitor in the organization has a social impact that they share with the public in order to promote themselves and make a difference in the community. All through high school and college, I struggled with body image, but it wasn't until I arrived at college where a number on the scale determined my success and my happiness... which in reality, that's exactly where I placed my identity.

So of course, I wanted to make a difference by helping others find their confidence in their body and their identity while I struggled with finding my own. It started out simple, until I realized the source of my identity struggle: I had an eating disorder. And then my entire outlook changed. Posting every Tuesday wasn't just helping others get a weekly boost of positivity and confidence, it was helping me with my recovery. I was preaching to the choir (meaning myself). My recovery became an ongoing process. My biggest burden and my passion for writing collided, and thus #TeachLoveTuesday is a hope. A hope that yes, with each post, I learn my identity is not in the seen, but the unseen, but also that someone, somewhere reads it and it gives them hope too.

I always wanted to be a teacher...

...and now I am. I teach love. Not just on Tuesdays, but everyday. (But especially Tuesdays because its the day after Monday, and its not yet hump day, so to me its always been the worst day of the week). So maybe you read these posts, maybe you don't. But maybe one day you will, when you need it most.

#TeachLoveTuesday

Simply, Sincerely,

Maddie